From that barefaced defiance to throwing in the towel, in the timespan of less than a week; it makes no sense. But then, it makes perfect sense when you accept to the notion that very little has made sense about FIFA for a very long time.

It stands to reason that when an organization like FIFA awards the World Cup to a country low on the Corruption Perceptions Index — make no mistake, this is an event involving a lot of money — it’s asking for trouble.

FIFA was supposed to come to African shores and sprinkle the continent with gold dust, inviting South Africa — and the rest of continent — into the family of nations. The problem was, however, that the family of nations functioned more like the cast of a B-grade mob movie